Re: What is the biggest tree in the world?

Anna Marie,

The largest tree, not the tallest, is a Giant Sequoia located in Sequoia
National Park in the southern Sierra Mountains of California. It is called
The General Sherman. It is the largest living organism on Earth. It is about 275 
feet tall and 36.5 feet in diameter. It is about 2,300 to 2,700 years old. One 
of it's neighbors it The General Grant.

You can see a picture of a Giant Sequoia that had been cut down at the web site 
of the Natural History Museum in London at http://www.nhm.ac.uk/museums/lifegal/201/201.html 
and read about tham at http://www.kernvalley.com/news/trail100.htm

I am a medical doctor and live in Fresno, California, not very far from Sequoia 
National Park and Yosemite National Park. Both of these parks should be on any 
tourists list of amazing places to visit in this country.

The worlds tallest trees are the Giant Redwoods along the northern California 
Pacific Coast. The worlds first, second and third tallest trees are all close 
together in Redwood National Park. They grow to about 367 feet. My son goes to 
college at Humbolt State University in Arcata, Ca. There are giant redwoods on 
the campus.

I hope you get to see them someday.

William Rich

--------------

Admin note:

David Hershey adds the following:

Depending on how you interpret the word "big" there may be a third answer.
The latest "Guinness Book of World Records" lists a tree as the earth's
largest living organism. It is a 43 hectare (106 acre) network of quaking
aspen tree trunks (Populus tremuloides) in Utah. The mass of the quaking
aspen is estimated at 6 million kg (6,600 tons). The quaking aspen is
considered a single organism because all the stems originate from one root
system. The world record quaking aspen is called Pando.

Quaking aspen has the widest natural range of any tree in North America
and second widest in the world. Individuals can survive over one million
years (Mitton aand Grant, 1996).

Reference:

Mitton, J.B. and Grant, M.C. 1996. Genetic variation and natural history
of quaking aspen. BioScience 46:25-31.